Smoky Cold Start - Video.

[Tim17]

Hi everyone, my IS200 is a bit smoky on a cold start, my initial thoughts were that it is blue-ish smoke, but now im not sure, i dont know wether i am just trying to convince myself that it isn't blue and it's more white.

So, i would love to know all of your opinions please on the colour of the smoke, if it seems excessive, and how it is compared to your car on a cold start?

Here's the video, (put it on high quality);

Thanks!

[matt-c]

Does look a little blue..? :(

[Tim17]

Does look a little blue..? :(

Thanks ...

:(

[Lance]

I just checked my car and there is no smoke from the exhaust on a cold start. The only time there is anything noticeable is on a cold morning there will be lots of white smoke out of the exhaust. That is perfectly normal as it is just condensation due to the stainless steel sections of the exhaust system.

Now, in my opinion....

That, what I'm seeing on your car looks to be blue smoke (blue smoke has a strong smell of burning oil, that's how you can really tell) and if it only appears after the car has been sitting for a while then its wear on the valve stem seals. What happens is the oil seeps past the valve seals and drops into they cylinder and is then burnt off in the first few seconds of starting up. It's not something I would worry about as it's not a major issue.

[sjrainsford]

These commonly smoke on a cold start with the original exhaust, but it's a white smoke or steam from the condensation build up which clears after a while.

However, yours seemed to do that, but also puff out a little blue/ black smoke which would indicate oil.

Has it got an aftermarket sports exhaust on it, as it sounds a little fruity? I'd never personally purchase a modified car, as to me it means it's been driven hard generally. That isn't always the case though of course, especially if you know the person you're having it off.

[clifton 94]

Hi looks like the valve stem passing a little oil a way you can check this when you go downhill put the car in a lower gear and leave your foot of the throttle the as you get towards the bottom of the hill put your foot on the throttle and see if there is a puff of smoke good luck

[Bluesman]

It is difficult to diagnose from the video as your car being blue is affecting the colour we see. It doesn't look to me as though its oil smoke because it moves to lightly (stupid adjective but I cant think of another way to describe it)

Oil smoke is heavy. Best thing to do is have a smell of it oil smoke has a nasty distinctive odour of death about it.

All cars put out what looks like smoke especially on colder mornings but its just the build up of condensation throughout the exhaust system. Sign of a healthy engine. Good luck

Hope this helps. Mike

[Tim17]

I just checked my car and there is no smoke from the exhaust on a cold start. The only time there is anything noticeable is on a cold morning there will be lots of white smoke out of the exhaust. That is perfectly normal as it is just condensation due to the stainless steel sections of the exhaust system.

Now, in my opinion....

That, what I'm seeing on your car looks to be blue smoke (blue smoke has a strong smell of burning oil, that's how you can really tell) and if it only appears after the car has been sitting for a while then its wear on the valve stem seals. What happens is the oil seeps past the valve seals and drops into they cylinder and is then burnt off in the first few seconds of starting up. It's not something I would worry about as it's not a major issue.

Hi thanks for the reply, i think it is blue also, but not distinctivly blue maybe there is some white smoke with it also :/, i'm doing a service on it tomorrow (oil, oil filter, air filter, spark plugs), so i will see if it makes it any better although i'm sure it wont lol. I'm unsure wether it's a major issue or not to be honest, i guess it depends if it gets much worse over time.

These commonly smoke on a cold start with the original exhaust, but it's a white smoke or steam from the condensation build up which clears after a while.

However, yours seemed to do that, but also puff out a little blue/ black smoke which would indicate oil.

Has it got an aftermarket sports exhaust on it, as it sounds a little fruity? I'd never personally purchase a modified car, as to me it means it's been driven hard generally. That isn't always the case though of course, especially if you know the person you're having it off.

It doesn't have an aftermarket exhaust, just the middle silencer blowing a little looking at that tomorrow though, and it's not modified

Hi looks like the valve stem passing a little oil a way you can check this when you go downhill put the car in a lower gear and leave your foot of the throttle the as you get towards the bottom of the hill put your foot on the throttle and see if there is a puff of smoke good luck

Ok thanks I will try this! Maybe i should get a friend to drive behind me when i do it as i don't think i will notice it from inside the car while driving.

It is difficult to diagnose from the video as your car being blue is affecting the colour we see. It doesn't look to me as though its oil smoke because it moves to lightly (stupid adjective but I cant think of another way to describe it)

Oil smoke is heavy. Best thing to do is have a smell of it oil smoke has a nasty distinctive odour of death about it.

All cars put out what looks like smoke especially on colder mornings but its just the build up of condensation throughout the exhaust system. Sign of a healthy engine. Good luck

Hope this helps. Mike

Hmm few different opinions on the colour of smoke, if the colour of the car is affecting being able to tell if the smoke is blue or not maybe i will try to get another video without the colour of the car in the video? I have smelt it, and i don't know if it's just me but i felt like if i smelt much more of it it would of killed me lol!! So who knows :/

Thanks everyone for your input

[sjrainsford]

If it doesn't burn oil when it's run for a while and when you rev the engine then It shouldn't really be serious. Plus if your oil level isn't going down much in between services, then you needn't worry.

[Tim17]

If it doesn't burn oil when it's run for a while and when you rev the engine then It shouldn't really be serious. Plus if your oil level isn't going down much in between services, then you needn't worry.

It doesn't blow out any smoke after the initial start up smoke or under any revs, however i don't know about when i am actually driving the car, because when i put my foot down and put the engine under load i imagine this would be a time when it would puff out more smoke. but as i'm always in the car i can never see it producing anything, so i need to get someone to drive behind me and let me know if it's producing some whilst the engine is being worked and not just revved.

But my old man pretty much said the same as you, said the engine is just a bit worn but shouldn't worry about it too much, unless it starts using excessive oil or starts producing alot more smoke even after initial start.

[Mr.Rudus]

its white smoke on a blue car lol

my advise = change the pcv valve

[rob76]

Hi Tim.

I agree. It is blue smoke. This car does make a lot of steam on start up, but that initial smoke is blue

I had the same problem a few years ago. My car had skipped services twice courtesy of the previous owner.

Mine would blow smoke on initial start up after sitting overnight. It did not affect performance, just embarrassing.

This was at 75000 miles.

I ended up having the valve stem seals replaced and the whole cylinder head reconditioned. It was not cheap. Problem fixed.

[Tim17]

I decided the car was more hassle than it's worth unfortunately, so i sold it as soon as i could... problem solved haha ;)